The Flame-Worms of Yokku by Hal K Read online

  Now let’s beat it back to the Falcon. I’ve had the body cavity.

  about all I want of Yokku for all time!”

  The jaws clicked shut again. For a

  “I’ve no craving to linger here any

  brief second, as the thing remained stonily

  longer,” Larsen assented. “Now that we’ve

  motionless, Larsen thought his ruse had failed.

  recovered the anode-bar we might as well—”

  Then the crystal came to sudden and frenzied

  He broke off abruptly as a startling outcry

  Amazing Stories

  10

  came from beyond the cliffs. There was an

  to strike a sudden responsive spark in Dalo

  indescribable metallic quality in that grating Yok’s drug-colored brain. Before they

  roar, as of great sheets of rusty iron rasping realized what he was doing he wrenched

  together. The sound lasted for nearly ten himself free from their grip and started racing seconds, then died away into silence.

  headlong across the plain toward the Falcon, Larsen’s eyes met Wheeler’s, the same

  shouting an incoherent gibberish of guttural

  thought in both their minds. That metallic roar Martian as he ran.

  came from the spot where they had left the

  Larsen drew his nitrolite pistol. “Come

  Falcon!

  on, Bart,” he said grimly. “We’ve no chance

  Without a word, they started grimly for

  to head that flying lunatic off, but we’ve got to the pass, dragging the still dazed Martian fight our way into the Falcon some way before along between them. When they at last those things fuse the ports with their flame-emerged from the other side of the narrow

  antennae and bar us completely out.”

  gap, they stopped short in horrified

  They started warily toward the ship.

  consternation at the sight which confronted

  Dalo Yak had already covered half the

  them.

  distance. The great metallic worms had seen

  The

  Falcon, resting there upon the the oncoming Martian and were deserting the sand two hundred yards away, was enmeshed

  Falcon for the moment to investigate.

  in the coils of two great serpent forms, whose The progress of their colossal bodies

  colossal size seemed to dwarf even the was a miracle of effortless speed, as they graceful cylindroid of the space-yacht. Each of writhed forward toward Dalo Yok. Gray

  those great serpentine figures was a full sixty vegetation and everything else in their path

  feet in length, with bodies nearly six feet in was crushed ruthlessly beneath them. Droves

  diameter. The lustrous, metallic, bronze-

  of the small lizard-quadrupeds fled in blind

  colored scales, that armored their undulating panic before the monsters’ advance.

  coils, glittered with a savage and sinister

  Dalo York showed no fear even when

  beauty under the tri-colored rays of the sun-

  the on-coming titans were squarely upon him.

  arch overhead.

  He stopped and, with fists lifted in pathetically They possessed the same peculiar futile defiance, awaited their coming. One of flame-creating equipment that had been noted

  the great worms trained its triple antennae

  in the small lizard-like quadrupeds, the three upon the Martian.

  short rigid rod-antennae set in the foreheads of Wheeler and Larsen swung their

  their great ugly heads. One of the giant worms pistols into line to make a last desperate effort was already focusing the pale rays of green,

  to save Dalo Yok, but a new drove of the

  blue, and yellow upon one of the Falcon’s

  panic-stricken lizard-things came hurtling

  closed ports. Where the rays met a swirling

  against their legs just as they were pressing cloud of greasy, black vapor began to form.

  the triggers. Their shots flew wide. They

  Staring at the metallic colossi with staggered for a moment, then recovered their blanched faces, Wheeler and Larsen realized

  balance as the lizards flashed on past them in that they were at last facing the monstrous

  their mad flight, but the brief delay had meant things of which Ran Yok had babbled in dying

  death for the Martian.

  delirium. Here were the “flame-worms of

  Where his body had stood, before

  Yokku” in all their appalling power and those lethal rays had focussed upon it, there terrible beauty!

  was now a pillar of swirling oily black vapor, The sight of the great serpents seemed

  shot through with angry flashes of leaping red

  The Flame-Worms of Yokku

  11

  flame. Then the rays vanished, and the vapor

  speed from the pursuing worms, Wheeler and

  almost instantly coalesced into a shapeless

  Larsen tried different tactics.

  lump of molten black. The giant worm sent a

  Instead of standing their ground and

  long ribbon-like yellow tongue flickering out bringing the worms to a complete halt with a

  to enclose the black mass with its three-

  concentrated burst of nitrolite, they contented pronged tip and whisk it back into the gaping themselves with a slow steady fire against the mouth.

  great heads in an effort to merely slow their In a revulsion of horror at Dalo Yok’s

  pursuers down enough to keep them at a safe

  hideous death, Wheeler and Larsen flung distance. Their plan worked for the moment.

  nitrolite against the monster’s armored bodies The bursting nitrolite, though

  until the explosions merged into a single powerless to wreak any real injury upon the rippling crash. The rod-antennae retracted into metallic titans, seemed to both annoy and

  the massive skulls until they were little more puzzle them. They slowed their advance down

  than pointed bulges, and the deep-set eyes

  to a steady, cautious progress that kept them were filmed over with protective plates of

  some fifty feet behind their retreating quarry.

  transparent crystal, but the giant worm-figures There was a leisurely, almost contemptuous,

  held their ground with stony immobility, even quality in that slow, inexorable advance, as

  in the face of that crashing bombardment.

  though, in the knowledge of their own

  When Larsen and Wheeler at last ceased their

  resistless power, the monsters were content to fire they saw to their despair that the bursting bide their time for the moment, until the

  nitrolite had had no apparent effect whatever annoying explosive stings of their puny

  upon the monsters. There was not even a

  victims should be exhausted.

  break in the lustrous bronze of their scales.

  Larsen and Wheeler fought doggedly

  The instant the nitrolite barrage ceased

  on to hold the worms at bay as long as

  the worms began gliding warily toward the

  possible, but they knew that the final result men. Larsen and Wheeler started slowly was inevitable. Their ammunition could not giving ground, backing toward the pass. Then

  last forever. The pass through the cliffs was the silent pistols seemed to reassure the nearly at their backs now. To go on through it worms. They began closing in with increasing

  meant being trapped in the cliff-walled valley speed.

  beyond. Yet escape to either side of the pass Knowing that any attempt at flight entrance was nearly as futile. They were would be made futile by the incredible speed

  bound to be overwhelmed in the end, anyway.

  of the worms, the men again stood their

  Be
tter to make a last fighting stand and

  ground and once more stopped their pursuers

  get it over with. The pass itself was probably for the moment with a crashing fire of as good a place as any. They were at least nitrolite. This time they concentrated their aim guarded from any flank attack there. Larsen

  upon the hideous heads, searching every inch

  started to suggest the idea to Wheeler, then

  of the massive skulls to find a vulnerable spot.

  abruptly stopped, as thought of the pass

  They failed utterly. As far as nitrolite was

  brought a sudden inspiration flashing through concerned, the giant worms were absolutely

  his brain. There was a possible weapon that

  invulnerable.

  might vanquish even the colossal power of the Again they ceased their fire, and again

  great worms.

  they had to retreat as the worms once more

  “Load your pistol to full capacity,

  resumed their resistless advance. This time, as Bart,” Larsen snapped tensely. “Then give me

  their silent pistols threatened a new outburst of all your reserve ammunition. I’m dropping

  Amazing Stories

  12

  back into the pass to lay a trap for those

  motionless figure with shielded eyes,

  brutes. Keep them at bay as long as your

  apparently expecting the tormenting hail of

  ammunition lasts. Then break and run for it

  nitrolite to start against their faces again.

  back through the pass. I’ll be waiting to cover Wheeler raced on past the overhanging

  your retreat.”

  area to safety, and flung himself flat on the The worms briefly threatened to surge

  ground beyond Larsen in response to Larsen’s

  forward as Larsen darted back into the pass,

  tersely worded command. The worms’

  but Wheeler quickly increased his fire to a

  hesitancy vanished as Larsen’s pistol

  smashing fusillade that again brought them

  remained silent. They started cautiously

  nearly to a halt. Larsen raced on back to where forward again, their great glittering bodies

  the wall bulged out in that titanic overhang.

  seeming to nearly fill the pass as they

  Beginning about twenty feet above the floor of advanced side by side.

  the pass, the overhanging area extended for

  Larsen’s eyes glowed in satisfaction.

  nearly seventy feet along the wall.

  The situation was ideal for his plan. With the Larsen took the first likely spot he

  worms advancing abreast as they now were,

  found, a shallow cavity in the wall just under he had an excellent chance of getting both of the center of the overhang. Dumping all the

  them.

  reserve nitrolite from its safety containers, he He held his fire for a long tense

  made a compact pile of the deadly pellets in

  moment. Then, when both the great ugly

  the niche. There was enough nitrolite in that heads were squarely under the overhanging

  small pile of blue-black capsules to annihilate cliff wall, he sent a single bullet hurtling

  a city. It required only one smashing blow to accurately into the niche where the nitrolite set the whole thing off.

  lay.

  He hastily packed rock fragments

  There came the sharp report of his

  around the explosive to divert as much of its bullet exploding, almost instantly blotted out force as possible against the cliff face, leaving in a terrific blast of fire and crashing chaos a yard-wide hole through which to send the

  that seemed to rock the very universe.

  bullet that was to explode the pile.

  Larsen’s senses reeled for a brief second in the Just as Larsen finished his hurried job,

  cataclysmic fury of that blast. Then something Wheeler’s ammunition was exhausted. Larsen

  crashed against his forehead, bringing swift

  heard Wheeler’s fire abruptly cease as and complete oblivion.

  Wheeler came racing toward the pass. Larsen

  He struggled back to consciousness to

  dashed twenty yards beyond the mine spot to

  find Wheeler working over him. “A rock

  get as far as possible from the terrific blast of fragment bounced off your skull,” Wheeler

  the nitrolite. Then he dropped to one knee to explained briefly. “Why didn’t you get farther steady his aim as he trained his pistol upon the away before setting off that blast, you idiot?”

  niche.

  “I got as far away as I could and still

  Wheeler, his face contorted with effort

  be able to get a shot inside the niche,” Larsen as he forced every last ounce of speed from

  answered. “Did it work?”

  his stocky body, was barely beyond reach of

  “Did it work?” Wheeler retorted.

  the racing worms behind him as he entered the

  “Boy, you brought a whole mountain down on

  pass. The pursuing titans abruptly slowed those brutes! Get up and take a look.”

  down as they saw Larsen waiting ahead of

  Larsen staggered dizzily to his feet and

  them with leveled pistol. For a moment they

  saw that Wheeler’s statement had been no

  came to a full halt, watching Larsen’s exaggeration. For a distance of nearly thirty

  The Flame-Worms of Yokku

  13

  yards the pass was chocked with a chaotic

  any minute, but they made it without mishap.

  mass of great jagged blocks of blue crystalline Leaving the pass they quickly crossed the

  rock. Crushed and broken beneath those plain to the Falcon. They opened the entrance countless tons of rock and crystal were the

  port, then stopped and turned for a last look bodies of the two giant worms. The only back at the pass.

  remaining traces of their great metallic figures As they looked they saw one of the

  were a few torn shreds of bronze-scaled flesh precariously balanced masses high on the

  among the rock rubble at the edge of the mass.

  shattered cliff tremble for a moment, then go

  “We’d better climb on out of this place

  crashing down. The great block struck against before the noise of that battle attracts some of the crystalline boulders in the pass with a clear the brutes’ little playmates,” Wheeler ringing impact that the acoustics of the narrow suggested.

  gap magnified until it was oddly like the

  Climbing over the ragged pile of fallen

  single chiming note of a giant crystal bell

  rocks was a precarious task, made doubly so

  struck in requiem over the shattered bodies of by several remaining masses high up on the

  the mighty flame-worms of Yokku.

  shattered cliff wall that threatened to fall at THE END